Svanstedt set to go with top trotting ladies

The last time Ake Svanstedt sat behind Warrawee Michelle (Walner-Sound Check) he became the first harness racing trainer-driver to win the Hambletonian Oaks in 35 years. On Saturday, the two will go to work together again in the $250,000 Delmonica Hanover at Mohegan Pennsylvania’s Pocono Downs, where Svanstedt will aim for a second straight victory in the event for 3-year-old female trotters.

The Delmonica Hanover is part of a Sun Stakes Saturday card at the northeast Pennsylvania five-eighths-mile oval that also features the $300,000 Earl Beal Jr. Memorial for 3-year-old trotters, $300,000 Max C. Hempt Memorial for 3-year-old pacers, and $250,000 James M. Lynch Memorial for 3-year-old female pacers.

Warrawee Michelle is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line and will leave from post eight in the eight-filly field.

Elista Hanover, who saw a 10-race win streak snapped by her seventh-placed-sixth finish in the Hambletonian Oaks, is the 5-2 favorite. She will leave from post two with David Miller driving for trainer Annie Stoebe.

Warrawee Michelle will not be Svanstedt’s only Hambletonian Day star competing Saturday at Pocono Downs. Jiggy Jog S (Walner-Hot Mess Hanover), who in her most recent race won the John Cashman Memorial in a stakes- and track-record 1:49.2 to join Manchego and Moni Maker as the only mares to beat the boys in the history of the event, meets male rivals again in the $100,000 Sebastian K Invitational at Pocono.

Jiggy Jog S, who will have Dexter Dunn in the sulky, is the 5-2 favorite and will leave from post seven in the field of eight.

Warrawee Michelle’s win in the Hambletonian Oaks at The Meadowlands was her first victory since the 2023 Breeders Crown final last October at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. She opened this season with sixth- and eighth-place finishes before having a procedure done to correct a throat issue.

The filly was third in her Hambletonian Oaks elimination but came home with a :26.1 last quarter to advance to the $525,000 final on Aug. 3. In the final, she made a first-over move from fourth just past the half-mile point on her way to victory by a half-length over Buy A Round in 1:51.2 on a sloppy track.

“She was herself again in the last two races,” said Svanstedt, a two-time winner of the Hambletonian who got his first Oaks trophy with Warrawee Michelle and became the first trainer-driver to capture the race since Bruce Nickells did it with Park Avenue Kathy in 1989.

“We didn’t have time to train so much (following her throat procedure), but in her elimination, she was back again. I drove on the inside, but she came home very fast. So, I knew she was back, and in the final, I was more aggressive.”

Warrawee Michelle’s starting spot for the Delmonica Hanover is the least advantageous at Pocono Downs, producing winners at 7.4-percent clip.

“She has a bad post, so of course, you need some luck,” said Svanstedt, who won last year’s Delmonica Hanover with Bond.

Warrawee Michelle has won five of 13 career races and earned $747,875 for owners Ake Svanstedt Inc., Santandrea Inc., and Young Guns.

In addition to Warrawee Michelle, Svanstedt will send out French Champagne in the Delmonica Hanover. She will leave from post three with Dunn in the sulky and is 9-2 on the morning line. She finished eighth in the Hambletonian Oaks after making a break in the stretch.

“She didn’t have any luck,” Svanstedt said about the daughter of Muscle Hill-French Cafe who has hit the board in 14 of 16 lifetime starts, winning eight and earning nearly $400,000. “She was a little interfered with in the stretch, so she made a break. But she came out of the race good, and she trained good. Maybe she is the horse to beat on Saturday. She can do everything, and she always fights to the end.”

Jiggy Jog S heads to the Sebastian K off a 1:49.2 mile that tied her with Hannelore Hanover for the fourth quickest in history by a trotting mare. Only Manchego (1:49) and Atlanta (1:49 and 1:49.1) have gone faster.

Jiggy Jog S has won seven consecutive races and 21 of 38 in her career, hitting the board a total of 33 times. She has earned $2.42 million.

Her competition in the Sebastian K — named after the former Svanstedt star who trotted the then-world record 1:49 at Pocono in 2014 — includes Lexus Kody (3-1 on the morning line), Hillexotic (4-1) and Periculum (9-2). Lexus Kody, driven by Yannick Gingras and trained by Ron Burke, enters the race off a 1:49.4 victory in the Vincennes on Hambletonian Day.

“This race looks tough, but if she gets a trip, she has the speed,” Svanstedt said. “Hopefully, Dexter finds a good position.”

Svanstedt will send two horses, Amazing Catch and Situationship, into the $300,000 Earl Beal Jr. Memorial for 3-year-old trotters. Svanstedt has won the Beal three of the past four years, including in 2023 with Up Your Deo.

T C I is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the Beal, leaving from post four for driver David Miller and trainer Burke. Amazing Catch, from post two with Dunn, is 4-1 while Situationship, from post six with Svanstedt, is 9-2.

Situationship has three wins and a second in five races this season, with his only off-the-board finish coming in his elimination of the Hambletonian. The son of Chapter Seven-Meegan Hall started from post 10 with Svanstedt and went to the front, reaching the opening quarter in :26.3. He led into the stretch but finished sixth and missed the final.

“It wasn’t his fault, it was the driver’s fault,” Svanstedt said. “He trained back good and feels good. I think he’s in good form. I expect a good performance.”

Racing begins at 2:30 p.m. (EDT) Saturday at Pocono Downs. For free programs, visit the Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen’s Association website.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA